Furniture stop

ABSTRACT

A furniture stop for protecting room walls and furniture from damaging contact with each other including a rigid member adapted to rest on the floor and to prevent sliding movement of the furniture relative to the floor in at least one direction, the rigid member having a recessed edge at least partially encompassing the foot of a furniture leg and a projection for limiting sliding movement of the rigid leg engaging member relative to the floor in at least one direction. In one form of the invention the stop is a notched block having a portion extending away from the notched edge to space the notched edge from a wall surface. In a second form of the invention the stop is a rod having a medial bend and opposite end portions connected to the medial bend by reverse bend portions. In a third form of the invention the stop is a rod bent in the form of a ring having a bore extending through the rod and a fastener extending through the bore and projecting therefrom for anchoring the ring to the floor. Extensions are provided for the first and second forms of the invention to adjust the stop for different spacings as required to space an article of furniture from a room wall. Colored plastic covers are provided for the second and third forms to blend with the decor of a particular room setting. Multiple stops engaging the different legs of a piece of furniture will prevent movement of the furniture in several directions.

United States Patent 1 Woodhouse FURNITURE STOP [76] Inventor: William E. Woodhouse, 2115 E.

61st Ave., Vancouver 16, British Columbia, Canada 22 Filed: Mar. 29, 1973 211 App]. No.: 346,119

[52] U.S. Cl. 248/345.l, 16/1 [51] Int. Cl A47b 95/00 [58] Field of Search 248/345.1, 302, 69;

312/250; 16/1, 86; 182/229; 24/73 AS, 73 C [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1912 Brown 248/302 X 2/1923 Soros 248/3451 Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner 1 Jan. 7, 1975 [57] ABSTRACT A furniture stop for protecting room walls and furniture from damaging contact with each other including a rigid member adapted to rest on the floor and to prevent sliding movement of the furniture relative to the floor in at least one direction, the rigid member having a recessed edge at least partially encompassing the foot of a furniture leg and a projection for limiting sliding movement of the rigid leg engaging member relative to the floor in at least one direction. In one form of the invention the stop is a notched block having a portion extending away from the notched edge to space the notched edge from a wall surface. In a second form of the invention the stop is a rod having a medial bend and opposite end portions connected to the medial bend by reverse bend portions. In a third form of the invention the stop is a rod bent in the form of a ring having a bore extending through the rod and a fastener extending through the bore and projecting therefrom for anchoring the ring; to the floor. Extensions are provided for the first and second forms of the invention to adjust the stop for different spacings as required to space an article of furniture from a room wall. Colored plastic covers are provided for the second and third forms to blend with the decor of a particular room setting. Multiple stops engaging the different legs of a piece of furniture will prevent movement of the furniture in several directions.

2 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures FURNITURE stop The invention relates to furniture stops for protecting walls and furniture from damaging sliding contact with each other and for limiting sliding movement of the furniture over the floor.

The stops permit the castered, or uncastered legs of furniture to rest on a building floor while limiting movement of the legs in at least one direction.

In one form of the invention the furniture stop comprises a block having a notched side edge at least partially encompassing a furniture leg with the body of the block extending away from the notched edge and providing projecting means for spacing the furniture leg from at least one wall of a room. The portion of the block extending away from the notched edge may form a right angled comer to engage an inside corner between intersecting wall surfaces, or it may terminate in a straight edge for engaging a single wall surface. Extensions are provided for adjusting the spacing of the notched edge relative to a wall surface as required for different sizes and shapes of various articles of furniture.

In a second form of the invention the furniture stop comprises a bent rod having a medial bend portion and a pair of opposite straight end portions connected to said medial bend portion by reverse bend portions, the medial bend portion opening outwardly away from the opposite end portions. Telescoping extensions are provided for telescopic engagement with said end portions for adjusting the spacing of the medial bend portion relative to a wall surface as required for different sizes and shapes of various articles of furniture.

In a third form of the invention the furniture stop comprises a rod bent into the shape of a circular ring for engaging around a furniture leg, the rod having at least one bore extending therethrough normal to the bottom plane of the ring, and a fastener extending through the bore for securing the ring to the floor. When the floor is covered with a rug the fastener is preferably a wire corkscrew.

With the foregoing objects and features in view and such other objects and features which may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating several forms of the invention used in spacing the legs of an article of furni-- ture relative to the walls of a room;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one form of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. I;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another form of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the invention shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of the invention illustrated in FIG. 5 but having telescopic extensions;

FIG. 9 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the telescopic extension portions of the invention illustrated in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the form of invention illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 but having telescopic end extensions and screw anchors;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged side elevational view of a wire cork screw anchor suitable for use with this invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the invention comprising a ring shaped rod; and

FIG. 14 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 14-44 of FIG. 13.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an article of furniture such as a desk, table or the like, shown outlined at 10 and including vertical legs 16 each provided with a ball caster 17 is spaced from intersecting vertical room walls 11 and 12 by furniture stops generally indicated by the reference numerals l4 and 15.

The furniture stops 14 are designed to prevent sliding movement of a furniture leg in a direction normal to the surface of a single vertical room wall, while the furniture stop 15 is a corner stop designed to prevent movement of the furniture piece toward the two intersecting corner walls 12 and 13.

As seen in FIG. 2 the furniture stop 14 comprises a rigid leg engaging member 18 formed from a flat block of wood, plastic, metal, or other suitable material having a recessed vertical side edge surface 19 in which a V-shaped recess, 20 is formed, the recess being sufficiently deep from apex 20 to side: edge 19 and wide enough at its open end to receive the ball caster 17 of a furniture leg and to partially encompass the caster. The under surface 22 of the block 18 is flat to rest on a planar floor surface 9. The body of the block 18 is elongated rearwardly from the notched surface 19 and has a rear edge surface 23 parallel to the notched front edge surface 19. The surface 23 may abut a wall surface with the bloclt 18 braced between the wall surface and the caster 17 to prevent movement of the caster 17 normal to the wall surface provided the block is long enough for a particular piece of furniture. In order to provide spacers for variously sized and shaped articles of furniture, the invention includes the basic rigid leg engaging member 18 and an extension block 24 of appropriate length as required to space the article of furniture from a wall surface as indicated in FIG. 1. The extension block 24 has a flat front edge surface 25 for abutting the rear edge surface 23 of the block 18 and a flat rear edge surface 26 paralleling the front edge surface 25. A pair of dowels 27 projecting from the front edge surface 25 are slidably received in cylindrical bores 28 drilled in the block 18 from the rear wall 23 to secure the block 18 and extension block 24 in rigid connection.

The corner furniture stop 15 shown in perspective in FIG. 3 includes a rigid leg engaging member 30 and a pair of similar extension blocks 35 adapted to be rigidly connected to the member 30 by dowels 37 engaging sockets 38 drilled in the member 30. The member 30 is a flat block having parallel top and bottom surfaces 39 and 40, side edge surfaces 33 and 34 which form a right angled corner, and a vertical front edge surface 31 which if linearly extended would intersect the side edge surfaces 33 and 34 at 45 angles. However, to avoid having exposed sharp corners, the corners between the linear front edge 31 and the side edges 33 and 34 are cut off to provide the flat edge surfaces 41 and 42 normal to side edge surfaces 33 and 34 respectively. The extension blocks 35 each have planar top and bottom surfaces 43 and 44, parallel front and rear vertical edge surfaces 45 and 46, an end surface 47 normal to surface 45 and 46, and a mitered end surface 48 which intersects the side edge surface 46 at a 45 angle. By selecting the proper size extension blocks and securing them to the basic leg engaging block member 30, a furniture stop is provided which will brace the caster 17 against movement toward the walls 11 and 12 resulting from forces indicated by the arrows A and B or any force applied in a direction between A and B.

The furniture stops illustrated in FIGS. -11 are basically related and form the second major embodiment of the invention which includes as a basic component a rigid rod 50 bent in such a manner as to have a semicircular medial bend 51, a pair of straight opposite end portions 52 and 53, joined to the medial bend by reverse bend portions 54 and 55. The medial bend portion 51 is adapted to at least partially encompass a furniture caster 17 while the end portions 52 and 53 are adapted to abut against a wall, or walls and brace the medial portion against motion in the direction of the wall, or walls against which the end portions 52 and 53 abut. As shown in FIG. 5, the stop 49 has parallel end portions 52 and 53, which particularly adapts the stop 49 to brace a furniture leg against movement toward a single wall surface in the same manner as the stop 14 shown in FIG. 1. The stop 56 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is intended to function as a corner stop in the same manner as the stop shown in FIG. 1. The stop 56 is like the stop 49 in all respects except that the end portions 53 and 52 are spread outwardly and lines extending axially through the end portions would intersect at a 90 angle if extended in the direction of convergence. Thus, if the stop 56 were substituted for the stop 15 in the corner as shown in FIG. 1, the end portions 52 and 53 would abut the walls 12 and 13 respectively.

Extensions 57 may be provided to telescope with respect to the end portions 52 and 53 as illustrated in FIGS. 8-11 for the purpose of adapting the stops 49 and 56 to be used with furniture of different sizes and shapes. In FIG. 8 tubular extensions 57 are shown telescoped over the ends of the end portions 52 and 53 of the furniture stop 49. The extensions are secured in adjusted position by means of cylindrical pins 59 extending through a selected one of the bores 58 in the extension 57 and through the bore 60 adjacent the end of the end portions 52 and 53. An extension 57 is shown in an enlarged disassembled view in FIG. 10. The hollow end of the extension 57 may be closed with a plastic end cap 62 having a projecting cylindrical stud 63 adapted to tightly fit within the cylindrical bore of the extension 57. The plastic end caps serve to protect a wall surface from scratches which might result from the sharp edges of the ends of extension 57.

The furniture stop 49 is shown in FIG. 8 to be encased with a tubular plastic cover which is preferrably colored to blend with the decor of a particular room setting. The tubular plastic cover 61 has sufficient flexibility and resilience so that it may be slipped over the rod 50 with extensions 57 and retained thereon by frictional contact.

Holes 66 are provided in the straight end portions 52 adapted to screw into a rug covering a floor and underlying the stops 49 and 56. The corkscrew fasteners 64 will preferrably be provided with a headportion 65 to be engaged between the thumb and forefinger of a person installing the corkscrew. FIG. 11 shows the corkscrews installed in the furniture stop 56.

FIG. 13 shows in perspective a third major embodiment of the invention 70 comprising a rigid tubular rod 71 bent in the form of an interrupted circular ring, a colored sheath 73 encasing the tubular rod 71, and a corkscrew 64 extending through the hole 66 in rod 71 for anchoring the ring to a rug or similar surface underlying the ring 71. The ring 71 is preferrably interrupted by a gap 72 to permit the flexible and resilient colored sheath 73 to be slipped on and off the circular ring.

Preferrably sheaths 71 of different colors will be provided by the manufacturer so that a customer may select a sheath with the color most appropriately blending with the color scheme of the room and furnishings with which the stop is to be used. The ring 71 has an inside diameter which will closely encompass a furniture caster indicated in outline form by the phantom line 17 in FIG. 13.

Whereas the furniture stops 14, 15, 49, and 56 are particularly designed to be used adjacent a wall surface, the stop 70 is designed for use in the middle of a floor away from any wall and therefore preferrably includes an anchoring fastener 64 to secure the stop ring to an underlying surface. While wire corkscrews are described and illustrated to be a preferred type anchor other suitable fasteners may be used. The advantage of a corkscrew is that it may be screwed into an underlying rug and removed therefrom without permanently damaging the rug or marring the exposed surface thereof.

The vertical dimensions of the stops must be such that a furniture caster will not easily roll over the top thereof. By way of example stops 14 and 15 having a vertical height of three-fourths of an inch have been found to be satisfactory for most applications.

The rods 51 forming the primary element of furniture stops 49 and 56 and rod 71 may be either a solid or tubular rod having sufficient rigidity so that they will not be distorted by the forces to which articles of furniture within a room will normally be subjected. The rods may be made of metal, plastic or other suitable material meeting the aforesaid requirements.

While the furniture stops of this invention have been described as being particularly adapted for use with furniture having ball or spherical casters, they are not limited to such use and may be used with furniture legs having other type casters or no casters at all.

It is anticipated that businesses selling the furniture stops of this invention will be provided with kits including the basic leg engaging member of the stop, a plurality of different size extensions and a plurality of different colored sheaths. The sheaths preferrably will be supplied in a roll of indefinite length so that sheaths of the required length and color may be cut off to meet the customer's needs.

While in the foregoing there have been described and shown the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications and equivalents may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

and said means limiting sliding movement of said leg engaging member comprising a fastener extending through said bore for securing said rod to said planar surface, the upper and lower surfaces of said rod including the end portions thereof being in parallel planes.

2. The furniture stop according to claim 1 wherein said rod is provided with a colored plastic cover to blend with the decor of a room setting. 

1. A furniture stop for engaging a leg of an article of furniture and limiting the movement of the furniture, comprising a leg engaging member having a surface adapted to rest on a planar surface on which the articlE of furniture rests, and means limiting sliding movement of said leg engaging member relative to said planar surface; said leg engaging member comprising a ring shaped rod interrupted by a gap and having at least one bore extending through said rod normal to said planar surface, said rod at least partially encompassing said leg and said means limiting sliding movement of said leg engaging member comprising a fastener extending through said bore for securing said rod to said planar surface, the upper and lower surfaces of said rod including the end portions thereof being in parallel planes.
 2. The furniture stop according to claim 1 wherein said rod is provided with a colored plastic cover to blend with the decor of a room setting. 